The Cat and the Canary (1978)

Director:

Radley Metzger

Writers:

Radley Metzger (screenplay)
John Willard (play)

Release Date:

1979 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Horror

Tagline:

For God's sake, stay in your rooms and lock the doors!

Plot:

A group of potential heirs gather in a forbidding old house to learn which of them will inherit a fortune. Later, they learn that a flesh-rending maniac is loose.

Plot Keywords:

Maniac | Death | Propped Up Corpse Falls Down | Reference To Tom Sawyer | 1930s

Cast

Honor Blackman	...	Susan Sillsby
Michael Callan	...	Paul Jones
Edward Fox	...	Hendricks
Wendy Hiller	...	Allison Crosby
Olivia Hussey	...	Cicily Young
Beatrix Lehmann	...	Mrs. Pleasant
Carol Lynley	...	Annabelle West
Daniel Massey	...	Dr. Harry Blythe
Peter McEnery	...	Charlie Wilder
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Cyrus West (as Wilfrid Hyde White)

Directed by
Radley Metzger

Writing credits
Radley Metzger		(screenplay)
John Willard		(play)

Produced by
Ray Corbett	....	associate producer
Richard Gordon	....	producer

Original Music by
Steven Cagan

Cinematography by
Alex Thomson		(photographer)

Film Editing by
Roger Harrison

Casting by
Rose Tobias Shaw

Art Direction by
John Hoesli
Anthony Pratt

Makeup Department
Mary Hillman	....	makeup artist
Tommie Manderson	....	makeup artist (as Tommy Manderson)
Sarah Monzani	....	hairdresser

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brian Bilgorri	....	second assistant director
Alan Carpenter	....	assistant director

Art Department
Derek Creedon	....	property man
Dennis Maddison	....	production buyer
Tony Neale	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Paul Carr	....	dubbing mixer
Anthony Sloman	....	dubbing editor
David Sutton	....	sound assistant
Ken Weston	....	boom operator
Clive Winter	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
David Clark	....	electrical supervisor
Frank Connor	....	stills
Mike Fox	....	camera operator (as Michael David Fox)
John Golding	....	focus
Martin Hume	....	clapper/loader
Nick Pearson	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lorna Hillyard	....	wardrobe
Monica Howe	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Allen Burry	....	publicist
Tamasin Day-Lewis	....	assistant to director
Jo Gregory	....	production accountant
Jane Oscroft	....	production secretary
Raymond Rohauer	....	by arrangement with

Production Companies

• Grenadier Films (presents) (as Grenadier Films Limited also)

Distributors

• Gala Film Distributors (1979) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cinema Shares International Distribution (19??) (USA) (theatrical) (original theatrical release)
• New Cinema Enterprises (1982) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Quartet Films (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• First Run Features (FRF) (2004) (USA) (DVD) (uncut director's edition)
• General Video Distributors (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS) (through)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video for Pleasure (VFP) (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS) (Samson Draaiplezier) (through General Video Distributors)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  lighting (uncredited)
• Roger Cherrill  post-production (as Roger Cherrill Ltd.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:16 (1979) | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | USA:PG | Australia:M | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (video rating: re-edited with additional material) (2004) | UK:15 (tv rating) | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Pyrford Court, Ripley, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Grenadier Films

Trivia:

The film was made and released about fifty-six years after its source stage play of the same name by John Willard had been first performed in 1922.

Quotes:

Hendricks:But, eh, wasn't it Bertrand Russell who asked 'What is a killer but a hero out of uniform'?

Movie Connections:

References The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

In 1934, blonde fashion designer Carol Lynley (as Annabelle West) and an assortment of greedy relatives gather at "Glencliff Manor" to hear the taped reading of wealthy Wilfrid Hyde-White's last will and testament. Relatively soon, we learn Ms. Lynley is to inherit everything, but not without stipulation. First, she must remain alive and sane after one night in the deceased's spooky old mansion. As a storm rages outside, the suspicious cast is joined by psychologist Edward Fox (as Hendricks), who informs them a homicidal killer known as "The Cat" has escaped from the local insane asylum. That's a recipe for murder and mayhem…

This fairly tepid re-make of the 1927 "silent" classic was likely inspired by the success of films like "Murder by Death" (1976). Lynley and Michael Callan (as Paul Jones) could be described as the leads. As a stand-in for Buddy Rodgers (make that Ben Lyon), Peter McEnery (as Charlie Wilder) figures prominently, and Daniel Massey (as Harry Blythe) doesn't. Lawyerly Wendy Hiller (as Allison Crosby) arches her eyebrow. Elderly housekeeper Beatrix Lehmann shows how unflatteringly the film's extreme close-ups can exaggerate a face. And, Honor Blackman and Olivia Hussey somehow manage to make a lesbian subplot unexciting.

***** The Cat and the Canary (11/78) Radley Metzger ~ Carol Lynley, Michael Callan, Peter McEnery, Edward Fox